The Record: Stonwall at 45

FORTY-FIVE years ago, the gays and lesbians who rioted at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village were not looking for full equality, they just didn’t want to be harassed by police anymore. Yet on that summer’s night less than half a century ago, the gay-rights movement began. And it could not be stopped.

A year ago in New Jersey, gay and lesbians still could not legally marry in the Garden State. Governor Christie had vetoed a marriage equality bill and Democrats had not mustered enough support to override it. The courts accomplished what the Legislature could not.

The state Supreme Court refused to grant a stay blocking same-sex marriage while the state’s appeal was pending. The ruling was so strongly worded that blocking same-sex marriage was unacceptable, that the Christie administration realized it would lose its pending case before the high court and dropped its appeal. The weddings began.

This week, a federal appeals court struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage. It was the first federal court to do so and the case will likely be resolved before the U.S. Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, the floodgates opened across the nation. More and more states are dealing with legal challenges to laws enacted to prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying.

Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The NFL and NBA have their first openly gay players. Openly gay men and women can serve in the U.S. military.

Yet for all this progress, there is a long way to go. Changing a law is not the same as changing attitudes and homophobia is still alive. Just as New Jersey gays and lesbians have witnessed barriers fall, they have also seen homophobia ignored in places like Rutgers, which only dealt with an out-of-control basketball coach when his vile words were caught on video that went viral. The Boy Scouts of America, while now allowing gay Scouts, still will not allow gay adults to hold leadership positions.

The celebrations that mark June — gay pride month — are a mixture of politicians, activists, regular folks and music sometimes played out with Mardi Gras abandon. Often it is the latter that gets the most attention. The festivities, though, are also becoming increasingly about families — gay parents, straight parents and their children, who may or may not be gay.

The people who rioted at Stonewall in 1969 could not have imagined a society where gay children could grow up to marry the person they loved, raise a family and be completely open about who they are at work and at home. In 1969, being gay could land someone in jail and destroy professional and personal lives. Young people today — gay and straight — cannot comprehend how bad it was then and how much improved it is now. The good news is young adults are more accepting of full equality.

In 45 years, so much has changed for the better. That is something to celebrate.